Legal Protection Plan (LPP)

The NJSPBA Legal Protection Plan is a member benefit that provides coverage for legal fees for certain incidents that are a result of taking a law enforcement action when civil and criminal charges arise and most incidents either on or off duty when administrative charges arise from those actions. The plan currently only costs $13.00 per month or 43 cents per day!

Target of an internal: When a member is notified that he/she is the target of an internal investigation, the plan will pay up to $1000.00 per enrollment period for an attorney to attend the Internal Affairs interview with the member.

Target of a Criminal Investigation: When a member is the target of a criminal investigation for an event that occurred within the course and scope of his/her employment, the plan will pay up to $3,500.00 per enrollment period for an attorney to represent them in said investigation.

Criminal: When a member receives criminal charges that directly arise out of the course and scope of his/her duties as a law enforcement officer, the Plan will pay up to $50,000 per enrollment period for an attorney to represent them. This shall include all expert fees deemed necessary for the members defense in the matter.

H.R. 218 or L.E.O.S.A.: Any active member who is deemed to have been lawfully carrying a weapon and acting in the defense of life in another state is covered under this section in the state the action occurred.

Civil: When a member receives civil charges that directly arise out of the course and scope of his/her duties as a law enforcement officer, the Plan will pay up to $50,000 per enrollment period for an attorney to represent them. This shall include all expert fees deemed necessary for the members defense in the matter. This coverage is also extended to any PBA local officer while holding office in the local when they are the target of a civil action related to that office. This does not apply if a member is alleged to have improperly managed funds or stolen money from the local.
(Note: the plan requires a denial of representation under N.J.S.A. 40A:14-155 in all such matters. It is the inherent responsibility of the employer to defend the employee and the plan will pursue the employer through a legal action if they unjustly deny coverage.)

Bonds: If a matter falls under Criminal coverage, the plan will allow up to $1,000 for a bail bond:

Attorneys: Currently our plan has over 140 law firms and 500 attorneys who have been vetted, and approved by the membership. Attorneys not under contract are not allowed to work for the plan under any circumstances without consent of the Board of Delegates after being properly investigated. Attorneys may be removed at any time for taking a case against the interest of the PBA or law enforcement in general.

We have also negotiated a rate that allows our members to receive a much higher benefit than if they were to hire the attorney privately.

In addition to our Traditional Plan, The State PBA now offers an Unlimited Plan to its Members at the low cost of $256.00 per year.* This Plan waives the coverge limits for Administrative, Criminal and civil matters.

Types of Coverage

Administrative / Criminal / Civil / Union Officer Coverage, Unlimited

Departmental Charges both on & off duty

$750.00 Target of an Administrative Investigation – Per Incident

$3500 Target of a Criminal Investigation – Per Incident (can increase for cause)

Includes expert witnesses

Polygraph, Private Detective, etc.

HR-218 Nation Wide Firearms Carry Coverage

$1000 Bail Bond

Appeal Bonds

*Entire Local must choose one plan.

Effective May 1, 2019, any active member enrolled in the Legal Protection Plan is eligible for a death benefit
paid to their surviving dependents. If the member dies in any instance, that benefit is $10,000, if the death is
due to a line of duty incident the benefit will be $25,000. This benefit has been added at no additional cost to
our members.

Comments: The legal protection plan was created in 1992 and at that time was simply a private insurance plan endorsed by the PBA. The plan was brought under the umbrella of the State PBA in 2001, at which time, all funds were brought into segregated PBA accounts and the plan was administered by a third party independent company.

In 2008, State President Anthony Wieners made the final move in bringing the plan home and brought all administrative tasks for the plan, including claims administration and enrollment responsibilities for over 23,000 enrollees into PBA offices done by PBA employees.

The plan undergoes a yearly audit and actuarial analysis to insure that the plan is financially healthy and we are proud to report that the plan today is the best financial health it has been in since the its inception as self funded in 2001.

Our goal is to keep our plan, owned by our membership, not individual attorneys or private, for profit insurance companies, as the best law enforcement defense plan in the nation. We pay approximately $3,000,000.00 per year in clams to protect our members, and want to make sure that it exists for years to come.

If you have any questions please contact your State Delegate.

Legal Protection

Margaret Hammond (Local 337), Chair

Adam O’Connor (Local 253)

Christopher Ebert (Local 296)

Michael Kaniuk (Local 152)

John Plesnik (Local 44)

Winslow Land (Local 167)

Patrick Moran (Local 144)

Heriberto “Ed” Carattini (Local 72)

Vinnie Rizzo (Local #217)

Edgar Mendez (Local #18)

Kevin Lyons, Administrator

Please note that all of the information contained within this page is a summary. Please refer to the plan document which is accessible through your State Delegate or President for exact coverage and exclusion issues.